In this new experiment, scientists encoded information into the nuclei of phosphorus atoms held in a sliver of purified silicon.

Magnetic field pulses were used to tilt the spin of the nuclei and create superposition states – the qubits of memory.

The team prepared the sample at -269C, close to absolute zero – the lowest temperature possible.

When they raised the system to room temperature (just above 25C) the superposition states survived for 39 minutes.

What’s more, they found they could manipulate the qubits as the temperature of the system rose and fell back towards absolute zero.

At cryogenic temperatures, their quantum memory system remained coherent for three hours.

“Having such robust, as well as long-lived, qubits could prove very helpful for anyone trying to build a quantum computer,” said co-author Stephanie Simmons of Oxford University’s department of materials.

“39 minutes may not seem very long. But these lifetimes are many times longer than previous experiments.

“We’ve managed to identify a system that seems to have basically no noise.”

However she cautions there are still many hurdles to overcome before large-scale quantum computations can be performed.

For one thing, their memory device was built with a highly purified form of silicon – free from the magnetic isotopes which interfere with the spin of nuclei.

For another, the spins of the 10 billion or so phosphorus ions used in this experiment were all placed in the same quantum state.

“However, a number of intriguing challenges still remain. For instance – will it be possible to precisely control the local electron-nuclear interaction to enable initialisation, storage, and readout of the nuclear spin states?”

The previous “world record” for a solid state quantum system at room temperature – 25 seconds – was held by Dr Thaddeus Ladd, formerly of Stanford University‘s Quantum Information Science unit, now working for HRL Laboratories.

“It’s remarkable that these coherence states could be held for so long in a measurable system – as measurement normally introduces noise,” he told BBC News.

“It’s also a nice surprise that nothing goes wrong warming up and cooling the sample again – from an experimental point of view that’s pretty remarkable.

“What is perhaps most important is that this is silicon. The global investment in this particular material means that it has a lot of potential for engineering.”